Scientists report discovery of creatures in Brazilian rainforest suspected to be “New zombie fungus”
The trend and success of the series developed from the famous game “The Last of Us” has made many people pay attention and know about it “zombie fungi” are fungal organisms (fungi) that can infect the body of organisms similar to insects and they took control of their bodies. and eventually kill
Scientists recently discovered a suspected “fungus” that could be a new species of zombie fungus. where its prey Trapdoor Spiders live in the Atlantic Rain Forest of Brazil.
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This new type of fungus looks purple. Belongs to a group of fungi that infect invertebrates and take over their bodies. Close-ups of the discovery team show the fungus wrapped around the trapdoor spider’s body.
say researchers There is no evidence to suggest that this new parasitic fungus controls the behavior of trapdoor spiders before killing them as the Cordycep family does.
Cordycep is a fungus that infects ants. and direct their bodies to a location where their spores can continue to spread. And is the prototype of the zombie fungus in The Last of Us.
The new fungus was discovered in November 2022 during a research team conducting a forest trip to the north of Rio de Janeiro to explore biodiversity and identify new species.
Although it is called a new species of fungi. but in principle We will have to wait for an official scientific description to be able to confirm whether it is really a new species or not. At the moment, the name of this discovered fungus has not been decided.
Dr said. Jewel Araujo, a Brazilian ecologist at the New York Botanical Garden: “It’s a very beautiful thing … they infect recluse spiders. And it’s also one of the few fungi that’s purple. made very special.”
He adds, “We don’t know much about these fungi. because there are very few studies This type of fungus is very rare in the world. mainly in Thailand This is probably the first time we have come across a sequence like this from Brazil.”
Araujo said that “The new species that attack trapdoor spiders are only a fraction of the highly diverse fungal kingdom … We currently only know about 1% of their diversity. So we know very little. “
The Atlantic Rainforest is one of the most threatened ecosystems on the planet. It once covered 15% of Brazil, but is now only about 20% of its original size.
The researchers used the latest portable technology to sequence the fungal genome in the area. They believe they discovered more parasitic fungi on this trip. As well as the fungi that eat the trapdoor spiders. A parasitic fungus has also been found that eats harvestman spiders and another that attacks a group of beetles. But further investigation is needed.
Compiled from The Guardian
Photo courtesy of The Guardian.
